Who Is Princess Ilana Rostovic in DC Comics? Is She a New Character?

‘Creature Commandos’ debuted a few weeks ago to overwhelmingly positive critics response. After ‘The Suicide Squad’ (2021) and ‘Peacemaker’ (2022), Amanda Waller forms a secret team of monsters, led by General Rick Flag Sr.

This team is loosely based on the same team from DC Comics, but among a plethora of “canon” characters, James Gunn decided to include some completely new and original characters created for the show. One of them is Princess Ilana Rostovic.

Considering that we don’t really have a reference in the comics for her, we decided to bring you everything we know about Ilana from the show, so far.

Is Princess Ilana Rostovic in DC Comics?

The Creature Commandos were, right from the start, considered and advertised, as one of the DC’s ‘strangest comics ever. The team first appeared in Weird War Tales #93 in 1980, when the original team was first introduced.

The original team included a werewolf, a vampire, a Gorgon-esque Medusa, a Frankenstein monster, and rock-hard human soldier, and a G.I. Robot. Then, after the DC reboot, a new Creature Commandos team was assembled and included many of the same members, but also added some new ones.

For instance, there was a cyborg, a humanoid amphibian, a mummy-like creature, and a 74-year-old grandpa who was once a member of Hunter’s Hellcats.

And then comes The Agents of S.H.A.D.E. version of Creature Commandos – the one that’ll resemble the DCU animated series version of the team the most. The members here are Father Time – the leader of S.H.A.D.E., and Dr. Ray Palmer – the former Atom and creator of the majority of S.H.A.D.E.’s technology.

There’s Frankenstein again – or Frankenstein’s Monster, if you will – who serves as the team’s leader. He created a wife for himself, aka The Frankenstein’s Bride, but she refused to mate him. Then there’s Dr. Nina Mazursky, who’s a Gill-man/mermaid hybrid, and the creator of Creature Commandos.

Vincent Velcoro reappeared as the vampire from the previous versions of the team, as well as Warren Griffith, the werewolf. The team medic is Khalis, the mummy, while Matthew Shrieve remains the only human member of the Creature Commandos team.

Another version of Creature Commandos appeared in the Flashpoint event, where new characters joined the team, like Man-Bat, Solomon Grundy, and Dr. Phosphorus.

role in the series, as she was announced among the first nine cast members connected to the Creature Commandos series. Here’s what we know about the character.

As you can see, Princess Ilana is missing.

Who is Princess Ilana Rostovic?

Princess Ilana Rostovic is a completely new character in the ‘Creature Commandos’ series. She is the ruler of Pokolistan, who was attacked by the sorceress Circe and the Sons of Themyscira. Her army called the Creature Commandos for help, and she formed a connection with their leader, Rick Flag Sr.

Ilana Rostovic was born as the crown princess of Pokolistan. When her mother began to lose her mental abilities, Ilana took over the country’s leadership. She became frustrated with the old ways of the nation and wanted to modernize it. As queen, she also started talks with the United States to sell access to oil in exchange for an alliance.

In 2022, after Circe caused trouble in Pokolistan, the U.S. agency A.R.G.U.S., led by Amanda Waller, sent a team led by Rick Flag, Sr. to protect the Princess.

In her interactions with Rick Flag, Sr., she shows a flirtatious side and tries to connect with him. She also cares for the safety of her people and shows interest in Western culture. Rostovic has a complex relationship with Flag, at one point trying to seduce him, but he remains focused on his duty to protect her.

This is everything we know about the Princess so far, considering that she is one of the main characters in the show, her story is bound to expand in the future.

Who is Maria Bakalova?

Maria Bakalova is a Bulgarian actress who voices Princess Ilana Rostova in Creature Commandos. Bakalova actually already worked with James Gunn in the MCU. She first appeared as the voice of Cosmo, the astronaut dog in Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and she’ll reprise the role in Guardians Galaxy Vol. 3 (due to be released on May 5, 2023).

That means she is the third active MCU cast member to join Creature Commandos. The other two are David Harbour, who portrayed the Red Guardian in Black Widow, and will reprise the role in Thunderbolts, and Sean Gunn, James’ brother, who’ll reprise his DCEU role as Weasel while also giving his voice to G.I. Robot. Gunn portrays Kraglin in Guardians of the Galaxy.

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